The present invention generally relates to a game of chance that can be played in a casino version or a cardroom version. More particularly, it relates to a modified version of a five-card stud poker game.
A player and a dealer are each dealt five card poker hands using a standard deck of playing cards. The high hand wins based on the priority of hands established under conventional five card poker rules. However, the player automatically wins if the dealer does not have at least a preselected combination of cards, e.g., an Ace-King combination or better in the dealer's hand. The player also receives a bonus payment depending on the type of poker hand that the player has if the player's hand beats the dealer's hand.
As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for years. A deck of cards, a playing surface and a few participants are all that is needed to provide a recreational few hours away from the stress and strain of daily life. Five card poker is a game that almost everyone knows how to play and many games have been developed using the same basic priority or rank order of winning poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High card(s) in Hand.
For one reason or another, it has been difficult to adapt the rules of poker into a casino table game in which each player plays against the house. In a conventional poker game, a plurality of players are each dealt a poker hand by one player who acts as the dealer. The player with the highest hand based on the established priority of poker hands wins. Each player in turn deals a hand as the game continues. It is not unknown to introduce wagering into the game, generally through the use of tokens or poker chips, which may or may not have a monetary value.
Many places, both within and without the United States, have legalized gaming and poker is one of the games of chance that is offered in both casinos and cardrooms. In a conventional cardroom poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing cards, the table and chairs but does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player's bet (the "rake") which compensates the house for providing the facilities to the players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time, say one-half hour. Each player is competing not against the house, but against all the other players with the highest hand winning the total of all the wagers made on that hand.
Many people do not like to play cardroom poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather than from their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted.
Cardroom poker also does not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands. While a Royal Flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total wager that he would have collected if all he needed to beat the other players was Three of a Kind.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a game of chance in which each player plays his poker hand against a poker hand held by the house or a banker and in which a player receives a bonus payment based on the type of poker hand that a player holds. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a game in which a player may win all or a portion of a progressive jackpot if the player is dealt a particularly high ranking poker hand.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the following detailed description of the invention.